Another meeting

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the shadow of a giant tree. Scaling down the mountain was no easy task but he had complete it in good time. It seemed that the passage through the mountain had cut his travel time in half and his thoughts drift to Ashe. Hopefully she would be able to survive, though he was relatively sure that she would be fine. Without a second though he withdrew his second water flask and opened it only to be disappointed at the lack of water falling out. He needed to find more resources if he could or he would need to start rationing his supplies. The whirring of engines filled his ears. Sirius looked up in time to see a droid scouting patrol pass by. He watched as they sped across the sky and landed. It was only then did he realize that the Alliance camp he had been searching for was in sight.

"Thank god." He sighed to himself. He was sick of dealing with random traveling companions. He could finally complete his mission. With that he left the shadow and rushed forward. the base becoming clearer with each step.

Several battalions of droids had formed up just outside the Forward Command Post. It was a preventive measure against recent events. Especially with the rambo trooper from the Republic that thought he could play hero. Eleanor was in the infirmary, together with the supposedly hero trooper and about a squad size of security droids. The trooper had tried to capture a Demon that was lurking around, while a Demon patrol then got the jump on him. Not long after, a droid squad intervened and mowed down most of the Demons, except the initial captive, who was dragged along as well. At least this was a sign for the Republic that the Alliance wasn't actively looking for war, since they didn't shoot the trooper. Not yet anyway.

As soon as the droids came into sight, Sirius watched at they all targeted him. It was like a domino effect. First one then three then almost twenty droids had him in the sight of their barrels. Let it be known that Sirius respected the battle droids of the Alliance. Mass produced or not, they got the job done. One of the droids broke formation and approached. Sirius immediately held his hand up in the universal sight of surrender. He hoped the machine would understand.

"YOU HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A HUMAN," The droid beeped as it came to a stop before him. "THIS IS AN AUTHORIZED AREA. LEAVE AT ONCE IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE PUNISHED."

"I am a traveler, trying to get back to the human world," Sirius quickly responded. "I do not wish to harm any of you. I just wish to pass through in peace." It took a few moments for the droid to respond.

"UNDERSTOOD, I WILL CONTACT AN OFFICIAL. PLEASE HAND ME YOUR WEAPON AND FOLLOW ME." Without another word Sirius handed over his sword and followed the droid. He watched as the droids followed him with their lifeless eyes, barrels ready to unleash their deadly payload if Sirius so much as stepped out of line. He swallowed, the dryness of his mouth not helping his nervousness. If he wanted to stay alive, he would need to avoid these soldiers. Sirius was brought to a tent where a stout man greeted him.

"I'm sorry I don't have the clearance required for you to safely go on your way." the man explained. "You need to meet with the commander. Once you have been process and it has been ascertained that you are not a threat, your weapon will be returned and you will be free to go." Sirius sighed but nodded accepting the man's words. HE might not be able to killed the commander but at the very least he could identify them. He was lead away by the same droid to a much larger tent. It bore a red cross identifying itself as the infirmary. The droid made one last motion and Sirius entered.

As Sirius entered, 4 of the 8 security droids turned around to face him and approached him, blasters ready. Unlike the couple hundred fully sand colored units that he'd seen as his welcoming committee, these had a redupper half of their torso, indicating a different rank or occupation. They also lacked the communications "backpack" the standard units had, like they were individual and loose from the general system.

As the droid requested his business, a couple meters further Eleanor toyed a bit with the helmet in her hands, sitting next to the bed with the trooper that had barged in. It had clear marks and his uniform identified him as a so-called ARC Trooper, the best of the best, even superior to Delta's, some say. For someone to then get captured with such ease, it sure brought disgrace to the Republic. If it wasn't intentional, at least. Her long green hair flowed down over her back and her golden eyes were fixated on the trooper, until her attention was required elsewhere. Placing the helmet down on the nightstand, she got up and exited the "room", to see 4 droids with someone she'd recognize all too well.

"Sirius? Is that .. What are you doing here? I thought you were back home, in. Nam'Ey or Niarja."

"Ellie?" For a moment Sirius' thoughts came a halt. His sluggish brain tried to process what was before him. Why was she here? Was she hurt? This was an infirmary after all. Still he had to calm his panicked mind. Eleanor was not a child and could handle herself. Finally his mind caught up with her words and Sirius spoke.

"After we met, I decided to travel a bit. I was traveling the Angel world and then war broke out." Sirius explained. "I have been trying to get back home since then. It's not exactly the easiest with demons and such filling the open area. I have been mostly traveling through forests and mountains to stay away from any potential danger." He paused for a moment. "Why are you here though? Were you traveling as well?" Sirius was no fool. She was most likely part of the Alliance army, but he held onto the hope that she was here by chance... not by choice. He would rather not fight her.

The sheer coincidence that her date of months ago would show up at her base during the time of war. It was either a set up by the Republic, or just coincidence. But even then, the chances of him specifically to show up where she was. At the same time this crappy ARC. It was too coincidental.

"I'm not buying it. First this ARC Trooper waltzes in and fails his work, we get our hands on him, and not a day later you show up. You, of all people. The odds are too small for this to be coincidence. They sent you didn't they? Those wretched Senators. Either to eliminate me as a threat, because they figure I wouldn't harm someone I liked."

She turned around quickly, shutting herself up and trying, though not entirely succeeding, to surpress her emotions. She'd told him she wanted to get into politics, but. Not like this. This was an opportunity and she took it, and it grew out to these proportions. She regained some of her composure, turning back to him.

"I'm not out to destroy the Republic. I wasn't even out to separate us, they just discarded us for doing something where they refused to."

From behind the curtains a voice rose up. "Then you shouldn't have done any of this without consulting the Senate!"

Sirius was trying to keep up with the whirlwind that Eleanor had just shouted at him. One, that an ARC soldier, the most elite of the elite, was here. Two, that he had be captured recently. Three, while he was with the Alliance she did not want to fight with the Republic and four, that she liked him. The last one took up more space in his mind than it should. Before he could refute her claims a voice called out from the back. That must be the ARC soldier. He knew about the members of ARC but he had never met any of the members personally. He was considered one of the best in single person missions, but they were on a completely different level. Only once did he work with one albeit indirectly. The two had been tasked with finding the plans to a demon fortress, one half for the each of them. He had only been halfway through his area, when he receive the message to evacuate. Sirius shook his distracting thoughts away. He had to prove his figurative innocence.

"Hold on, your telling me that I was sent by the Senate?" He asked in disbelief. "We both know that the portal to the human world is east of here. You can ask any of the droids. I came from the west. If I had gone through the portal then I would have come from the East," He reasoned hoping she would see the logic in his words. He turned his attention to the curtain. Without waiting he pulled the curtain aside, revealing the a man in bed. A quick glance confirmed Ellie's statement. He was an ARC solider if the helmet and the armor had anything to do with it.

"Who are you?" Sirius asked to keep up his persona. As a normal traveler he would have no idea what an ARC soldier was much less their importance.

"Lad, don't be so simple. Any half assed general sends their people they want off the grid via detours. My guess is Monster and Demon worlds. That's what I'd do, anyway."

The ARC sat upright in the bed. His right arm was either shot or mauled, unclear as the bandages covered up the wound. He still had most of his armor on, minus that of his arm and the helmet. On the chair was a DC-15S, the standard rifle used by Republic military, small format. Quite different frmo the E-5's used by the droids.

Eleanor clearly was not a fan of this convention and as reaction ordered the 8 droids to guard the trooper until she had the time to deal with him. But right now she had to deal with Sirius, and it was still very unclear how. Dragging him along to her office, she remained dead silent. Droids along their way didn't even react to it as out of the ordinary behaviour, like what she did was perfectly normal, as they went on with their designated tasks. Once in the office, Eleanor let go of him and stood near her window before turning around to face him.

"I'm serious right now, no screwing around, no covering governments, no shitting me. Why are you here?"

Sirius regarded Eleanor coolly from across the desk. The office alone told Sirius that she was the one he was looking for. She was his target. Still he couldn't killed her. Feelings or not, if he even tried to harm her, the droids outside would killed him where he stood. No he needed another plan of action. Sirius' mind raced back to the conversations he had had with her. She knew he was military, at the very least a soldier that over viewed the abilities of the troops. He could lie and say he quite but that would only bring up more questions. However the truth would almost certainly get him killed. A half truth then. No lies but not the full story.

"I was sent via the monster world to access the enemy formation of the demons and report back to the Republic." Sirius admitted. "Once I was done, I would travel back to the human world posing as a refugee traveler. I honestly didn't know you were even here. I just wanted to pass through and get back home."

She let her head hang for a couple seconds, then breathed in deeply as she looked back up to him. If what he said was true, at least he wasn't out for her head. And judging from his reaction earlier, or how their date in the past had gone, he wasn't exactly out for her blood. With a somewhat calmer mind and definitely a lot less nerves racing through her head she sat down at the desk, grabbing a bottle of water from a drawer.

"If you're telling the truth, at least that means the situation with the Republic can be salvaged. Look, I never wanted this to blow up as it did. I sent my best man out there to the Senate to discuss the matter, but. They're so thick, they refuse to listen to what we have to say. I did this to stop the Demons. To stop their war, their onslaught, their need to make other suffer. I'll march these armies right to their homes if I have to but this has to stop. When we made this Alliance, we made a promise to act, and we wouldn't be stonewalled by a Senate that is afraid to do something unless it benefits them. And this way at least we can do it with as little human lives at stake as possible."

Sirius breathed an internal sigh of relief. She believed him, or believed him enough not to throw him to the dogs. Still he needed to be mindful of what he said and how he acted. Walking through a minefield wasn't over after one step. He mentally ran through what he knew of Ellie. She wasn't a fool and wouldn't be tried by his words. They had also met before, so that lowered his chances even more. Sirius decided to play it safe. He wouldn't ask or try and research the Alliance movements while he was here. If he was caught, he would be punished. Thus he shifted his goals. The sooner he left the better. The longer he stayed the more suspicious he would become. Still it was nice to speak with Ellie again.

"At least, we can agree on that." Sirius chuckled lightly. "The Senators are only focused with keeping their jobs not doing it. Several men in the army feel the same way about the angels as the Alliance does and would be happy to support. However they would lose their jobs and their money. The Senate has a strangle hold on the people and they won't give it up without a fight."

Sirius sighed. "It certainly doesn't help that the princess is with them. Most people will agree with anything she says, for whatever reason. The senators have her in their pocket and that blocks a large amount of people from making a move to help the Alliance."

She couldn't help but develop a slight blush. After their first date back in Niarja, which happened just by giving it a shot in the dark, Eleanor had thought about him more than once, thinking of maybe asking him out again. Even if just for some time off and forgetting all the troubles. But she'd been overworked with wounded coming in. And as the final battle occurred, she lost all chances of getting into touch with him, as the public got a ban from contacting military. To protect their soldiers, they said. More like make them less distracted so they could throw their lives away, rather than to return to their families. And then things went from bad to worse. She was contacted by Cole, together they got together a group of like minded, when they heard the Senate refused to act on the Angel purge. And they made it their work to think up a plan to stop the Demons without risking human lives in the process. The droid army came into being and she became the leading figure of the Alliance.

And now they sat together again, against all odds and quite possibly on opposite sides of the table. He didn't seem very convinced the Senate was worth keeping, or supporting, but she wasn't sure whether he was very keen on joining them either. So she took the gamble.

"The Alliance can provide. Work, place to live. Anyone in the ciries that we control back home was given the choice to go to the Republic, quite a few did. So we have plenty of space. And, if you mean Tiara as princess. She's here. She's sorta signed up with us. With a Delta team, one that's originally Republic. And the Deltas that ARC trooper came for. You can stay with us. We know the Republic doesn't work. I preferred we could talk this out properly and if it doesn't work just. Go our separate paths, but they're making it so damn hard to be civilized."

Eleanor sank her head into her hands at the thought of a civil war breaking out. "I never wanted this. I just wanted to end the constant pain. Suffering. Loss..."

Sirius winced at her forlorn expression. He almost stepped forward to hold her, but quickly brushed the feeling away. They had gone on one date, if it could even be called that. He doubted that he could provide her any form of comfort. She was strong and would over come the feeling quickly enough. Still... it couldn't hurt to try. He moved placing his hand on her shoulder. He gave a gentle squeeze hopefully in a comforting way.

"The war will end," Sirius said confidently. "The Republic may not be willing to help the angels but are mostly unable to challenge the Alliance. If the Princess is with you then perhaps she can call to those indecisive people to join your cause. If you can show the people that the alliance is doing the right thing then they will follow." He stopped here, thinking about his travels up to this point." From what I saw at the temple, the demons have a very large army. You will need all the help you can get. Trying tracking down the angels. I am sure they will help when they can."

She'd missed him. Even though they'd only gone out once, it felt just, natural. As if they'd known each other for years. at least, for her it felt like that. And apparently by his actions, he hadn't forgotten either. Maybe there was hope for them, maybe he wasn't sent here as an assassin. Shoving the thoughts aside, she cleared her desk out, wiping whatever stuff her arms found to the sides, without brushing it off the desk.

"We have. No interest in fighting the Republic. But there's a few things, inconsistencies that I want to point out. Or, discuss rather." She dragged a map of the Angel World out on the desk. "Demons are holed up in the whole east and center. We're in the west, over here. My forces have only encountered one single patrol of theirs. If you take over a world, you don't do it half assed. You go all the way. Why haven't they made any advances onto us? Scouting, preliminary testing sieges, they did it back in our World. So why not here? It's as if they know where we are and with how many. And that raises another question."

She pulled up a record of a man. "This guy, Cole Turner. Great man, charismatic and all, essentially helped us all set this Alliance up from scratch. He went to the Senate to discuss the issues and find out how we can avoid, well, this. A civil war. He came back having failed. The Senate instead casts us aside and calls us traitors. That's seccession right there. How convenient, that right as the Demons stage a daring invasion of the Angel World, leaving their home exposed, the Republic splits in two, and are at each others throats. Something's going on, something bigger than this Purge. But I can't figure out what."